Earth Dam Sliding Failure: Aznalcóllar Dam, Spain

Mines in the area of Aznalcollar, a town in the province of Sevilla, southwest Spain, have exploited from ancient times a number of metallic minerals (zinc, lead, silver) associated with pyritic formations. The process of mineral extraction produces large volumes of pyritic tailings which, in the Aznalcollar mine, were stored under water in a large pond area. The pond, whose layout is shown in the air photograph of Figure 4.1, is maintained by a perimeter dyke, which was conceived as a homogeneous rockfill dam made impervious by an upstream mantle of clay. The pond evolved in volume during the lifetime of mining operations in order to accommodate the increasing amounts of waste. The increasing demand of waste storage capacity was resolved (in the original design) by increasing the height and size of the dam in the manner schematically indicated in Figure 4.2.

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